Senate Democrats Propose the Rich Pay for Jobs Bill

Posted on Oct 5, 2011

Democratic leaders in the Senate proposed Wednesday that Americans who make more than $1 million a year should be charged a 5 percent surtax to pay for President Obama’s jobs bill.

The surtax, which would also impact dividends and capital gains, could bring in enough in 10 years to cover the $447 billion cost of the job creation bill, and would take the place of Obama’s earlier proposal to end a range of tax deductions for the wealthy that are already in place.

An aide to Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said the measure, if agreed to as it stands, would be permanent and could take effect as early as Jan. 1, 2012. —BF

The Wall Street Journal:

Democratic leaders said they hoped to bring the revised plan to the Senate floor next week for debate. But assuming they keep all of their votes, they would need at least seven Republicans to vote in favor of any effort just to start debate on the legislation.

It’s also not clear that the changes would win over all the Democrats who have been opposed to the package. Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.V.) has voiced objections to the spending portion of the bill, so changing how it is paid for would be unlikely to sway him. Sen. Ben Nelson (D., Neb.) has repeatedly said he would oppose any tax increases given the current economic malaise.